Sunday, April 29, 2012

In the morning of August 29, 2011, we
had the Hyderabad Marathon and a dear friend of mine, Bhasker Sharma, from
Bangalore, was participating in it. He had asked me to come to the Gachibowli
Sports ground at 9 a.m., by which time he would have finished the race. I went
there at about 9 a.m. and was very excited as I was meeting Bhasker after many
moons.

At the gate, I was flagged down by an
officious police official who prevented me from going to a spot closer to the
stadium. I told him that I was there to receive the marathoner who had come in
first in the event. He looked at me and flagged me off with a big smile on his
face. I had lied, as I had no idea if Bhasker came first or not. I did not feel
good about it. It was playing on my conscience, even as I alighted from my car.

I met Bhasker on the track and
realized he was a celebrity! He had done some 31 marathons and everyone seemed
to know him. I was in great company. I was basking in his glory and was holding
his bib, his small eats, anything for somebody to know that I was Bhasker’s
friend! I managed to catch up on old times but after a marathon, it is a bit
hard, and Bhasker was patient with me.

The Prize distribution was on and we
were heading toward the podium. Then came the vote of thanks. No, Bhasker’s
name was not called out. Dutifully, I got Bhasker and his brother into my car
to the nearest auto-rickshaw and he left. I felt guilty on two counts — I had
not spoken to Bhasker long enough or taken him home, and I had lied to the
police guy at the gate.

About 4 p.m., I called Bhasker and
caught up with some quick chat on the phone as he was heading out to the
airport. He said that it was a great marathon, his personal best timing of
sub-4 hours, and added that it was a bitter-sweet one for him. He had been
called out by the organizers for being the first in his category (above 50
years), and at that time we were out of earshot. He missed receiving his trophy
from the Governor. His prize would be sent to Bangalore.

And I remembered the conversation with
the policeman and smiled. It was a prophetic lie, indeed!

Sometimes in life, if there is an
universal truth out there, even a lie turns true...

About Me

S. V. Nathan is the Chief Talent Officer for Deloitte India, with over 29 years of professional experience in Human Resource management.
Apart from his responsibilities in Deloitte, Nathan serves as a Fellow at Sumedhas, a not-for-profit education and research body on organization development. He is a well-known speaker, teacher, and Behavioral Specialist trained in sensitivity training.
Recently, Nathan was named the HR Role Model of the Year 2011 by Star News. He was also selected as the “HR Person of the Year” by the Asia Pacific Congress for HR in 2008. Nathan served as the President of the Hyderabad chapter of the National Human Resource Development Network (NHRD) until 2011.
He is also an active member of the distinguished WILL Mentoring Council of the "Forum for Women in Leadership" in India.
A man of letters, Nathan has graduated in Mathematics and did his post graduation from XLRI, India’s prestigious Business and Personnel Management Institute.
Nathan is married to Chitra and has two sons, Vivek and Vignesh. He is fond of reading and writing, and enjoys cooking for family and friends.